Favors
by Ebaz
Summary: "I don't give out advice, you know. I just See." —When Red asks for a favor, the person he asks gives out less than she receives.


_A/N: Written for The Legend of Chocolate's Guess-That-Pairing Competition on the Pokémon Fanfiction Challenges Forum. Check it out—there's a link on my profile :)_

_Fair warning that this may be slightly confusing, given that I'm not supposed to include two characters' names. I think they're relatively easy to guess, though. Names will be edited in after the competition has ended. :)_

_That being said, it's two AM and I honestly have no idea what I just wrote. Sorry._

* * *

The sun had already hidden itself beneath the fringe of skyscrapers that crowded the city's horizon, but bits of light speckled the cobbled roads as Red meandered down side streets. He followed the faded signs with an intention in mind, keeping his head down in the darker alleys and walking quickly.

He slowed his pace at the north side of town, pausing to squint at the brass-plated numbers decorating the houses of Indigo Street. He found 417 nestled between two narrow scarecrows of houses, which made it look small and squat in comparison.

He raised his hand, discovered that there was no doorbell, and knocked quietly.

The door opened quickly, and leaning against its frame was the house's occupant, wearing the same grim smile he'd last seen on her. Her arms were folded across her chest, and her blue-black hair was cropped shorter, ending in a curl just below her shoulders.

"Red," she rasped, fixing him with a ghost of a stare. It was nowhere near friendly, but nothing compared to the icy daggers he knew she could produce. "So nice to see you."

"Wish I could say the same about you," he said.

She noted the sole PokéBall on his person. "Not here for a challenge, are we?"

"More of a personal favor, actually," he said flatly. He wasn't proud of coming here, and he wanted to get it over with quickly.

"Ah." Her smirk grew, like she knew exactly what he was talking about. He didn't doubt that she did. "Come in, then."

Red had half-expected the house to be hung with musty drapery and clouded by incense, but it was sparsely furnished and uncluttered. She led him to a stiff white armchair and sat him in it, kneeling on the floor beside it.

"So, Red," she said softly, looking up at him through heavily-lidded eyes. "What'll it be today?"

She knew exactly what he wanted, of course—she just wanted to make him say it.

"I need… relationship advice," he said with a grimace. He could already feel his face getting warm.

She grinned devilishly. "I don't give out advice, you know. I just See."

"Just See, then," he said quickly.

"Don't be so impatient," she warned, picking herself up and walking around to the back of the chair. "It clouds the senses."

Red tried to un-cloud his senses as the older girl placed her hands on his head and closed her eyes. "Focus on her, now—on your interactions with her. Remove all other thoughts…"

As he imagined, so did she: his thoughts poured into her brain as syrup through a sieve, fragmented at first but malleable enough to piece together into a coherent idea. Through him, she saw a girl with the silky hair of an angel and the mischief of a devil; she could tell how much he thought about her by the potency of the images, which shone like sunbeams compared to his other stray thoughts.

She saw her flying high above a city with her Pokémon in hand.

She saw her at the edge of a lake, staring over the glassy surface of the water.

She saw her battered and bleeding and determined, her black dress slashed open at the top to reveal two round PokéBalls and two round—

Her concentration shattered as she realized that the last memory was hers.

"What happened?" Red asked as her face began to color. "Is it over?"

"Er—sorry." She regained her composure and focused on Red's mind once more, moving from the past and into the future. Still, the image haunted her in a different form, this time alongside Red's bare form…

She broke off the connection willingly this time. "Keep doing whatever you're doing," she said curtly. "It'll work."

He rubbed his temple, looking slightly dazed. "Fantastic," he said. "Thank you so much."

"It was a pleasure."

After he had left, she sank into the couch and allowed the images to invade her mind once more. There she was, at the scene of the battle… and there _she_ was…

She didn't feel any remorse for lying to Red. He was too good of a person for the object of his affections, who was also a liar at heart. They didn't deserve each other.

All at once, the future began to shift, and she felt satisfied as Red's lifeline detached itself slightly from the one that glowed in each of their minds. All that was left was to wait.

Until the future turned in her favor, however, she would wait—and with memories like those, it would be _quite_ an exciting time…


End file.
